Margot Frank - the forgotten sister of Anne Frank

Evidence of Margot's diary

exerpt from Anne's diary:

"Last night Margot and I were lying side by side in my bed. It was incredibly cramped, but that's what made it fun. She asked if she could read my diary once in a while. 'Parts of it,' I said and I asked about hers. She gave me permission to read her diary as well."

Margot Frank 1926 - 1945

Margot Betti Frank was born in Frankfurt, Germany to Jewish parents, Otto and Edith Frank in 1926. She was the eldest daughter of this couple and the elder sister to Anne Frank, famous for her diary describing a life in hiding from the Gestapo during WWII.

We all know about Anne Frank and her diary, published posthumously by her father, Otto, after the war. It is the eyewitness account of eight Jewish people who hid from the Nazi Gestapo in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. For years, the diary has been the required reading material for eighth graders throughout the world and especially here in U.S. public schools.

Through Anne's diary, we learn, first hand of the horrors of Hitler's Nazi regime which tried to take over the world and eliminate all Jewish persons through the Final Solution, better known today as the Holocaust.

More importantly, we also learn through Anne's diary, the yearnings and dreams of a fourteen year old girl, forced into hiding, just as she was blossoming into a young teenage girl. We all can relate to her joys, sorrows, and dreams as she 'grows up' in hiding.

Anne Frank stands for all young girls who wanted just to be with their friends, go to school, talk about boys and boyfriends, go to dances and parties and basically grow up as normal teenage girls. And, we find out about all this through Anne's diary, one of the most famous primary sources we have left behind from the war.

But, what about Anne's older sister, Margot? There is very little known about her or her feelings during this awful conflagration and her time in hiding as well. We do know, from Anne's diary entries that Margot also kept a diary during her time in hiding, but that diary has never been found, presumed destroyed by the Gestapo when they raided the attic where the Franks and four others hid.

Otto Frank, Margot's and Anne's father and the only survivor of those in hiding, has said how sorrowful he felt that Anne's diary received all the attention, and Margot's diary was never found. Margot was his daughter also, and he would have liked for her diary to have been published also.

Margot, also was a young teenage girl, just sixteen years old, when her family went into hiding. She wrote her feelings, yearnings, sorrows, and joys, I am sure in her diary also. Although, Anne was the extrovert in the family and Margot was the introvert, both would have experienced some of the same feelings and dreams all teenage girls have.

And, because of that, the Anne Frank House and Museum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands has recently opened an exhibition just about Margot Frank, because for so long she has been 'the forgotten sister' of Anne Frank.

Margot's early life

When Margot was born, the Franks were living in Frankfurt, Germany in the outer suburbs of the city. Otto Frank was a businessman and Edith, his wife, a homemaker. Three years later, Anne, was born and the family was complete.

As a youngster, Margot attended the Ludwig-Richter School in Frankfurt until 1933 when Adolph Hitler became Chancellor of Germany. With his election into office came harsh anti-Jewish measures throughout all of Germany. Hitler used the Jewish as the scapegoats for all that was wrong with Germany and its low functioning economy.

At this time, all Jewish children were expelled from all non-denominational schools. Because of the rising tide of anti-semitism in Germany, the Frank family immigrated to the Netherlands. A total of 63,000 Jewish persons left Germany that year.

The Franks eventually settled in Amsterdam in the Netherlands as Otto Frank had a business partner there and so had work he could do. He and his partner owned a pectin factory. Pectin is a substance used to make jellies and jams jell and Otto Frank worked in the office management part of the business.

Margot, after the move to Amsterdam, was enrolled in an elementary school on Amsterdam's Jekerstraat, close to their Amsterdam South address. She studied there with excellent academic grades until 1940, when Germany invaded the Netherlands and established anti-Jewish laws in the Netherlands. Margot was forced to attend a Jewish Lyceum.

Margot has been described by surviving classmates as studious, intelligent, with excellent academic marks, virtuous, reserved and deeply religious. She was also described as shyer and more tolerant in nature than Anne.

Margot, who was closer to her mother, became involved in Amsterdam's Jewish community at the urging of her mother. She took Hebrew lessons, attended synagogue and in 1941. she joined the Dutch Zionist club for young people.

Margot mentioned many times that after the war she wanted to immigrate to Palestine (Israel) to study to become a maternity nurse and eventually to study medicine.

It was Margot's deportation order from the Gestapo in 1942, that forced the Frank family into hiding. The day after receiving the order, the Franks disappeared from their Amsterdam home and went into hiding on the attic floor of Otto Frank's business office. They were joined by their friends the Van Pels and their teenage son, Peter, and later by a Jewish Dutch dentist, Fritz Pfeiffer. Eight in all were cramped in a tiny attic. There they had to live silently during the day and could only move around and talk after six in the evening when the offices were closed.

It was during this time that Margot, also, kept a diary about their life in hiding.

Letter from Margot to Anne

from Anne's diary:

"I'm just sorry I haven't found anyone with whom to share my thoughts and feelings, and I'm not likely to in the near future . . . I think I need to feel very close to a person before I could share my thoughts. I'd want to have the feeling that he understood me through and through, even if I didn't say much. For this reason, it would have to be somebody I felt was intellectually superior to me . . ."

Otto Frank | Source

Margot's time in hiding

During hiding, Margot, more introverted, was more closed up and didn't openly express herself as Anne did. What little we know about Margot, we get from Anne's diary. Anne describes her sister as "tidy, quiet and gets good grades."

It was during hiding that Otto Frank organized the studies of Margot, Anne, and Peter, the Van Pels' son, and taught them quietly during the day. We know from Anne's diary what Margot studied and in what she had interests.

An entry in Anne's diary lists the interests of everyone who was in hiding. This is the list Anne made about Margot:

correspondence courses in English

trigonometry

French and Latin

shorthand in English, German and Dutch

geometry

mechanics

physics

chemistry

algebra

English, French, German and Dutch literature

bookkeeping

geography

modern history

biology

economics

reads everything, preferably on religion and medicine

Quite a list of interests. Margot certainly was an intelligent and studious teenager.

Anne's description of Margot in her diary is that she is, "naturally good, kind and clever, perfection itself. A paragon of virture."

During her time in hiding and being a teenage girl, precocious Anne was many times admonished by her mother to behave more like Margot, the quiet, reserved child. As a child, Anne had looked up to Margot for her good attributes and behavior, but as a teenager, Anne shows us in her diary that she was a bit jealous of Margot's fine attributes as Anne was trying to forge her own individual personality, and ,therefore, resented her mother's remarks that she should behave more like Margot.

Because of this, Anne, then, was closer to and identified more with her father, Otto, and Margot was closer to and identified more with her mother.

Although Peter Van Pels and Margot were the same age, it was Anne and Peter who developed a girlfriend-boyfriend relationship while in hiding. Anne writes about this in great depth in her diary.

We also have a few letters written between Margot and Anne during their time in hiding. One of those letters from Margot to Anne, Anne copied into her diary. You can see a part of the letter in the text in the colored box to the right. We know from the letter that Margot was never jealous of Anne, but wished for someone to be able to confide in all her hopes and dreams.

Although quiet and reserved, she experienced the same feelings and dreams all girls do at sixteen years of age

Blue highlights the building where the Franks hid on the top floor in Amsterdam from 1942-1944. | Source

Miep Gies who found Anne's diary after their arrest, saved it, and gave it it Otto Frank after the war. | Source

The mass gravesite where Margot and Anne were buried at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. | Source

The Franks are found

The Franks and the others in hiding were discovered and arrested by the Gestapo in August 1944. They were then sent by train to the Dutch Westerbork concentration camp and declared criminals by the camp officials for hiding from Margot's deportation order. They were detained in the Punishment Block and sentenced to hard labor in a battery dismantling plant. They worked there for six weeks.

They were selected for Westerbork's last deportation to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland in September 1944. In October 1944, Margot and Anne were transferred to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

It was here, during the winter of 1945, that both Margot and Anne contracted typhus, and in March 1945 both died from typhus in the camp. Margot was nineteen years old when she died two days before Anne. Both girls were buried in a mass grave at the camp. Today, a tombstone marks the area where they were buried.

Otto Frank was the only one of the eight in hiding to survive the war. When he returned to Amsterdam, after the war, Miep Gies, who had found Anne's diary after they were arrested and had saved it, gave it to Otto Frank. After reading it, he had it published and it has been a world-wide best-selling book since its publication.

Because Margot's diary did not survive the war, we only have a glimpse of Margot, provided by Anne's diary, what Otto Frank and previous classmates have said of her along with the few letters she and Anne exchanged. Although we don't have as full picture of Margot as we do of Anne, nevertheless, Margot's feelings and dreams as a young girl are just as important as Anne's and Margot deserves to be remembered also as a valiant girl who stood up to the hate, cruelties, and murderers of the Nazi regime.

By defying her deportation order and going into hiding from the Nazis with her family, Margot showed the same courage, bravery and determination as Anne and the rest of her family and friends. Although more quiet, reserved and reticent, Margot also shines today as a fine example of courage in a time of fear, death, and defeat. As with Anne, Margot's spirit lives on. The Nazis may have killed Margot's body, but her spirit lives on in her writings, no matter how brief, and no matter how overshadowed by Anne's diary.

Today, the Anne Frank House and Museum has opened a new and much deserved exhibition, just about Margot, so that she no longer is 'the forgotten sister' of Anne Frank.

Update: March 2015. Through recently discovered documents from WWII, it has been determined that Margot and Anne died a bit earlier than originally thought. They both are believed to have died in February 1945 instead of March 1945. "One day they were here and the next day they were not," said a camp friend of the girls.

Copyright (c) 2013 Suzannah Wolf Walker all rights reserved

Anne Frank's House and Museum today in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and home of the new exhibition on Margot Frank. | Source

Comments

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jwmurph

4 weeks agofrom Tennessee

Really enlightening,,,some real research here. Thank you for all your work and information. I have been to Dachau and Auschwitz more than once,,,terrible but enlightening experiences.

Flávia Cardozo de Jesus

17 months ago

Thanks for this article. I read Anne Frank's diary since I was 13 years old (today I'm 25) and I always wondered about Margot's lost diary, but I had never found any information on the Internet. It's so sad that Margot was always so little remembered by people. She went through the same experiences and suffered the same things as Anne, but hardly anyone remembers her. She seemed to be a very inteligent girl too, but more shy than Anne. Unfortunately without Margot diary, we will always have a more distant and impersonal historical view about her.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

2 years agofrom Taos, NM

Charito: I am so glad you enjoyed reading this and for you insight into the Holocaust. I haven not seen the film you mention but I will look for it as I would like to see it. I find Anne's and Margot's story and Holocaust experiences so enlightening and important to history. I just think Margot deserves to get her due in this story as Anne's has been so famous because of her diary. Too bad Margot's diary was not found.

Charito Maranan-Montecillo

2 years agofrom Manila, Philippines

Hi, Ms. Suzette. You see, I don't usually like watching or reading about the horrors of the Holocaust because they make me so depressed. However, recently, I watched "Anne Frank: The Whole Story" starring Hannah Taylor-Gordon as Anne and Jessica Manley as Margot. I thought it was a good production, and I do admire the courage that the two sisters exhibited in the wake of the war. It's sad how their fate landed them in the concentration camp after almost two years of hiding.

I think that Margot should also be honored as one of the icons of Jewish persecution during the Nazi regime. Like her sister Anne, she and the other Jews faced their sufferings like Christian martyrs.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

3 years agofrom Taos, NM

lawrence01: Yes, I have noticed dogs to be that way. I love dogs and they always seem to like me and jump on me. I have actually had dogs give me a hug. My mom and sister don't like dogs and they will growl and bare their teeth at them. I do think animals sense who is kind and who is not.

Lawrence Hebb

3 years agofrom Hamilton, New Zealand

You're right about nature and the animals sensing things we can't. I think it's something God gave the animals to help protect them from men. Have you ever noticed your pet can sense a person and tell if they're good or not?

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

3 years agofrom Taos, NM

lawrence01: That is so interesting about the birds. I think birds and animals in nature can sense things and that is really wonderful that the birds refuse to sing within the camp. What a beautiful tribute by nature to all that died and were imprisoned there. That is fascinating.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

3 years agofrom Taos, NM

lawrence01: How fortunate you were to visit Bergen Belson. Yes, that is where Margot and Anne died from typhus fever. I have visited Dachau concentration camp in Germany and you are right. Nothing prepares you for a German concentration camp. It is unconsciousable how the Jewish and others were treated there. I have always wondered about Margot and I felt she got short shrift when it came to the Frank's experience in hiding and subsequent deaths at Bergen Belson. Too bad her diary was never discovered.

Lawrence Hebb

3 years agofrom Hamilton, New Zealand

I realized after I closed off that Margot and Anne were at Bergen Belsen.

I was there in 1976 thirty one year's after the liberation of the camp. One thing that has stayed with me was that the birds still didn't sing within the boundaries of the camp. The guides told us it was because they could sense what happened there.

Lawrence Hebb

3 years agofrom Hamilton, New Zealand

When I was a teenager I visited Germany. It was.a wonderful place but I also went to a place called Bergen Belsen one of the smaller concentration camps. Nothing can prepare you for the place. No matter how much you read about it seeing it changes everything.

I salute you for bringing this story back to us and showing us.another side

Lawrence

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

3 years agofrom Taos, NM

lawrence01: Now that you explain this book, I have heard about it before. Thanks so much for sharing this with me and the author's name is familiar to me. The Holocaust was tragic and dreadful, but there were good people who tried to help the Jews. Thanks so much for your visit.

Lawrence Hebb

3 years agofrom Hamilton, New Zealand

Suzette

It is. The writer ( Corrie Ten Boom) Was the only survivor of the family and she tells the story. They were Christians and she was in her fifties at the time.

All her family died in the camps for hiding Jews. The state of Israel recognized their sacrifice and honored- the whole family as 'RIGHTEOUS GENTILES '

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

3 years agofrom Taos, NM

lawrence01: The book you state sounds interesting and I will have to read that one. Thank you so much for reading this and I am pleased you enjoyed it. It is such a sad and moving story of Margot and Anne. Just tragic. Thanks so much for stopping by to read this.

Lawrence Hebb

3 years agofrom Hamilton, New Zealand

Awesome hub.

I've never read the Diary of Anne Frank but I did read another book by a Christian family who hid Jews in Amsterdam during ww2. In many ways they were the bravest people of that time as they took on the Nazis with no protection.

The book was called "The hiding place" and is amazing. Voted up

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

3 years agofrom Taos, NM

Thanks Jackie!

Jackie Lynnley

3 years agofrom The Beautiful South

Glad we agree! ^+

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

3 years agofrom Taos, NM

Writer Fox: What insightful comments! Yes, I wish we had Margot's diary because as you say it would be so different than Ann's. Margot was more religious than Ann and it would be interesting to hear her take on what was happening to them. I wanted Margot to be remembered, because so much has been written and researched about Ann that many forget she even had an older sister. I would love to see the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem and I hope to get to that part of the world one day. Of course, I hope there is peace there in my lifetime, but that is a great hope.

Writer Fox

3 years agofrom the wadi near the little river

I am so glad that you chose to write about Margot. If her diary were ever found, it would be far different from that of Anne because 14 year old girls and 16 year old girls are light-years apart. Also, Margot had connected with her religious identity, which is why she was the one given a deportation order, which resulted in the family fleeing the country.

I often visit Yad Vashem, the Holocaust history museum in Jerusalem. In it is a data base of victims' names. Over one million are the names of children. We know their names but, like Margot, each name is a diary forever lost.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

3 years agofrom Taos, NM

ladyguitarpicker: Thank you so much for reading this and I am pleased you enjoyed this. I know what your mean, the Holocaust was horrible, but reading books about it is a way we can connect with the victims of that horrible time in history. I wanted to highlight Margo because so much has been written about Anne and her diary, but Margo has been pushed back into the background in the story of their hiding. It would have really been interesting if Margo's diary had also survived the war. It would have been interesting to read her take of the Frank's time in hiding. She deserves to be remembered as much as Anne is. Thank goodness we have Anne's diary to attest to the horror of the Holocaust.

stella vadakin

3 years agofrom 3460NW 50 St Bell, Fl32619

I have read many books about the Germans and Hitlers terror on the Jews, but never read anything on Margot Frank. This was a very interesting hub and I will be back to read more. Thank you.

Kathryn Grace

3 years agofrom San Francisco

Your article transports me immediately into the deep feelings of fear, shock, horror and suffering I felt more than five decades ago when my fifth grade teacher read Anne Frank's diary to us every day, one chapter at a time, right after lunch.

Until then, absent the violence of movies and television our children grow up with today, I did not know how deeply cruel human beings can be to one another.

We, the human race, are shamed continuously by such human-caused suffering. As our president launches yet another war and sends more bombs to another country, I am in despair that we cannot find ways to live together without this needless pain and waste.

Anne and her family show us how to celebrate life whatever our circumstances, how to wait and work for a better time. Learning that from them so long ago, every day I pray for peace in the hearts and minds of every man and woman on Earth.

One day, perhaps we will rise from our barbaric tendencies and celebrate instead our ability to love one another and to live in harmony.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

3 years agofrom Taos, NM

chef-de-jour: Thank you so much for your comments and I am glad you enjoyed reading this. I have also visited Anne Frank's house in Amsterdam and I agree with how you describe it. It is wonderful to actually see the diary she wrote. I agree with you about Miep Gies; she certainly was a brave woman to help out the Franks and keep them hidden for so long. She risked her own life to help them. I think she must have been quite intelligent and clever to get by the Nazis when they brought her in for questioning. I didn't know of her passing and she was a noble person as you say. Thanks so much for your visit.

Andrew Spacey

3 years agofrom Near Huddersfield, West Yorkshire,UK

Thank you Suzette. Margot is somewhat in the shadow of Anne but you've shed more deserved light on her which makes for a great read. I've been several times to Anne Frank's house in Amsterdam, so atmospheric. It's one of those places everyone should visit in a lifetime if they can.

The brave dutch lady Miep Gies is also someone we should praise and honour. She passed away a couple of years ago I believe - what a noble person.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

John: Yes, Margot has been nearly forgotten over the years - that is why I did this article on her. I would have loved to have read her diary about her experiences from her perspective. I have enjoyed Anne's diary over the years. Thanks so much for your visit.

John Sarkis

4 years agofrom Los Angeles, CA

Interesting article. Yes, it seems as if she's remembered as "Anne" subsequent, but she was quite an interesting person in her own right! Thanks for brining light into her narrative.

Take care!

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

Jackie; Feel free to rant! LOL! Here's my rant: the Palestinians were living on that land for centuries and never did anything to develop it and they lived more or less as nomads. Then, when the world grants this land to the Jewish for a homeland of their own because they came from there originally also, the Palestinians, who had done nothing to build a state of their own, suddenly wanted it. The Israelies, through hard work and their kibbutz's built up a Jewish nation and all the Palestinians have done is cry it's not fair. Well, the Israelies earned their homeland by the work they put behind it. Now, the Palestinians want land handed over to them so they can have a state of their own, but they weren't into putting in the work when they had the land. Today, people forget all that and I don't have a whole lot of sympathy for the Palestinians. I think Israel has ceded enough land to them anyway. There, that's my rant and I'm done now.

Thanks so much for reading this and I am glad you enjoyed it. Yes, the Jewish people have put up with so much discrimination over the centuries. I just had to highlight Margot Frank, because over the years she has been forgotten. She, too, has a story but unfortunately, we have never heard it because her diary did no survive the war. So, I tried to piece together as much information as I could find about her. I have always enjoyed reading Anne's diary, and I'm sure Margot's would have been just as enjoyable. Yes, it would be wonderful if someone had her diary and didn't realize it. What a find that would be!

Jackie Lynnley

4 years agofrom The Beautiful South

So interesting; I had not seen this. I received an email from twitter today with someone calling the Jews murderers for defending themselves. I know another race nowhere has been discriminated against and treated so horribly. I hope America will step up to plate for Israel a little better very soon. I know God has His eyes on it all and we are told to help them and I hope those of us who realize who the Jew is in prophecy will not be counted along with the ones who don't care if they do know.

Sorry. lol Just a little rant; I would love to have read her diary too; a shame it was lost. Wouldn't it be something if someone had it not knowing just what they have? ^

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

grand old lady: Yes, it was difficult to find any information on Margot. She has mostly been forgotten over the years and just because she was more quiet and reserved is not a reason to forget her. Anne's personality overshadowed Margot's and it a shame Margot's diary did not survive. It would have been amazing to read her account of what was happening to them too. But, thankfully, Anne mentioned her in her diary so we know a little about her. Thanks so much for reading and for your visit. Most appreciated.

Mona Sabalones Gonzalez

4 years agofrom Philippines

For so long, not enough attention was paid to Margot Frank. I appreciate your piecing together splices of information about her here and there to honor her as she deserves. It's also nice to know that the museum has devoted a wing to this sister who seemed far more reserved than her younger sister. Very interesting indeed.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

Millionaire Tips: Thanks so much for reading and commenting. I did feel Margot had been forgotten and needed to be remembered more for her sacrifices too. I am so pleased you enjoyed this piece.

Shasta Matova

4 years agofrom USA

What a great tribute to Margot Frank - she does need to be remembered along with her sister Anne. All these pictures really help us remember that this is not just a story - that these are real things that happened to real people.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

Ebonny: Thanks so much for your insightful comments and for reading this. Yes, I thought it is about time Margot got some recognition as Anne and her diary have been so famous for so long. She was a quieter and more reserved and I wish her diary had survived, too, as I would have loved to have read her take on what was happening to them. Yes, Miep Gies, along with her husband, were instrumental in hiding the Franks and the others. They had several run ins with the Gestapo during the hiding and then when the hidden apt. was discovered, she was imprisoned for a few days and questioned. She was smart enough to get away from the Gestapo though. I am so pleased you enjoyed reading this and learning about Margot. Thanks so much for your comments.

Ebonny

4 years agofrom UK

This was a most fascinating read from start to finish and the photographs helped draw me in too. I'm glad you included a photography of Miep Gies who found and kept the diaries for Margot and Anne's father, plus I understand she also played a vital role in supporting the hidden family. I was not aware of Anne's older sister Margot so thank you for sharing. So sad the sisters both perished but it seems at least they were together until the end of their short lives.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

John: Thank you so much for your kind comments and I am so pleased you enjoyed reading this. Yes, Margot has been forgotten along the way, and she needs to be spotlighted too, as well as Anne. Both girls sacrificed so much to try to survive the war and it is a shame they came so close, within weeks, of the war ending, but sadly they both died of typhoid. It is a tragic irony. Think of what they would have accomplished if they had lived. It is so sad! Thanks so much for taking the time to read this and I am so pleased you enjoyed it.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

VVanNess: Oh, you are too kind. I am so glad you enjoyed reading this. Everyone remembers Anne and her diary and Margot gets short shriff in this matter. So I wanted to highlight Margot in this hub as she too was a teenager in hiding from the Nazis during her formative adolescent years. I can't imagine a harder thing to have to do to save lives. Thanks so much for your lovely comments and I am so pleased you enjoyed this.

John Sarkis

4 years agofrom Los Angeles, CA

Suzette, thank you for such an insightful article. Most of us are familiar with Anne, but I knew little of her sister - probably because she's not as discussed as Anne. All said, thank you again and voting up!

John

Victoria Van Ness

4 years agofrom Fountain, CO

Another great article spotlighting someone I didn't even know existed! I consider myself more educated for having read your articles.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

MG Singh: So glad you enjoyed reading this. I think it is important to remember the Frank family, but especially Margot, because she has nearly been forgotten over the years. I am sure her story is just as poignant as Anne's. We are fortunate that Anne's diary survived the war as we get a view of the war and her life through her own eyes. That is vital to history. Thanks so much for your comments and visit.

MG Singh

4 years agofrom Singapore

A rare post that gives a wonderful insight

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

FulOfLoveSites: I agree with you so much. I would have loved to have read Margot's take on life in hiding during WWII. It would have been interesting to compare the two girls perceptions. That is what makes this story so tragic, but we are fortunate that Anne's diary survived. Thank you so much for your insightful comments and for stopping by to read this.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

LKMore01: Thank you so much for your lovely comments. I appreciate your visit and your comments. It is such a sad chapter in world history - I feel for the entire family and what they had to endure to live during WWII.

FullOfLoveSites

4 years agofrom United States

As an introverted person myself, I felt I could relate with Margot Frank and many of her interests. Too bad her diary had been destroyed, I'm sure it would have been really famous as Anne's, I would have liked to know what was in Margot's mind, her thoughts and her closed-up innermost feelings. I imagine about her writing style too -- could have been more lyrical, you'd never know. She and Anne were extreme opposites indeed.

LKMore01

4 years ago

Suzette,

Beautifully written and powerful Most of us can't even remotely imagine what these young women endured. Thank you for sharing this story.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

DreamerMeg: Thanks so much for reading this sad story. It is tragic what happened to this family and sad Margot's diary did not survive. It would have been nice and also interesting to hear her perspective and perception of her time in hiding.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

Ralph: Thanks so much and glad you enjoyed this!

DreamerMeg

4 years agofrom Northern Ireland

Such a shame.War is a dreadful thing. I never knew Ann Frank had a sister. Thank you for writing this hub.

Ralph Deeds

4 years agofrom Birmingham, Michigan

Moving. Well done!

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

GmaGoldie: Thank you so much for reading this. I just want Margot to be remembered and it is sad her diary did not survive the war. I am glad you enjoyed this and I thank you for your comments.

Kelly Kline Burnett

4 years agofrom Madison, Wisconsin

SuzetteNaples,

What a wonderful hub! The family dynamics and the historic events of this family touch each of us. This is critical information to remember. Thank you so much for shedding light on the sister. This is very sad but there is a ray of light when you write and we remember, we all grow to be better human beings. Thank you!

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

FlourishAnyway: Thank you for reading this and I am glad you enjoyed it. Many people have said they have not heard of Margot before, so I am glad I wrote this and I am glad she is getting her due at the Anne Frank House and Museum. It is sad, being the introvert, that she was forgotten. The whole Frank story is so sad. Thanks for taking the time to visit and comment. Most appreciated.

FlourishAnyway

4 years agofrom USA

This is a fascinating account about Anne Frank's forgotten sister, Margot. Quite honestly, I did not even know she had one. It's been a long time since I read her work and I did not recall that. So many times the introvert is overshadowed. I do wonder whether she would have received the attention had the diary been found. Lovely, haunting hub that honors her young spirit.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

Rolly: Yes, the sisters' story is so sad and it is tragic that Margot's diary did not survive the war also. We are fortunate to have Anne's diary and documents such as these to learn from the awful times. We have never experienced war and you are right, we don't know what it is like. We are very fortunate and we should be thankful every day for this. Thanks for your visit and insightful comments.

Rolly A Chabot

4 years agofrom Alberta Canada

Hi Suzette... very well written and a reminder of the hardships this family faced during those horrible years. We today have no idea and yet through carful documentation and writings such as this we certainly come to appreciate the blessings we have all around us... congratulations on an excellent article.

Hugs from Canada

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

Sueswan: I am so glad you read this and now know a bit about Margot now. Yes, she is just as important as Anne and it is a shame her diary did not survive the war also. Thanks for your comments - most appreciated.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

RTalloni: So glad you enjoyed reading this and I am glad Margot is getting some attention now. She, too, gave the ultimate sacrifice during WWII and it is so sad her diary did not survive also.

Sueswan

4 years ago

Hi Suzette,

I did not know of Margot Frank and I thank you for writing about her.

I am glad to hear that the Anne Frank House and Museum has opened and exhibition just about Margot. She deserves to be remembered for her courage and bravery and not only as Anne Frank's forgotten sister.

Voted up +++

Take care and have a great weekend.

RTalloni

4 years agofrom the short journey

Though we wish we could read her diary, the record we do have of Margot's life stands poignantly, speaking to us of the lives lost in that hate filled situation. Thank you for highlighting her and the fact that the Anne Frank museum now features her sister's exhibition.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

Eddy: Thanks so much for your comments. Most people don't realize that Anne had a sister. Margot has truly been forgotten over the years. I am glad she is finally being remembered with an exhibition at the museum and brought to the forefront. Her story, too, is a tragedy.

Eiddwen

4 years agofrom Wales

How interesting Suzette ;I never knew there was a sister and this was so interesting and well written.

Thank you so much for this share.

Eddy.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

LongTimeMother: Thank you for reading this and I am so glad you enjoyed it. The Frank sisters' story is such a sad one, but writing about them helps to keep them remembered. I appreciate your visit.

LongTimeMother

4 years agofrom Australia

Awesome hub. I studied the book as a student in the 70s and could never bring myself to watch the movie. Thanks for writing so respectfully about Margot. None of us should forget the victims of that tragic time.

Voted up ++++.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

Hi Romeo: Glad you found this and you enjoyed reading it. Yes, there were many, besides Anne and Margot, that defied Hitler's evil during WWII. No, I'm not Jewish, but I have Jewish friends, so I wanted to wish them all a happy Jewish New Year. Thanks so much for your visit - most appreciated!

Romeos Quill

4 years agofrom Lincolnshire, England

Dear suzettenaples,

Argh! I missed the notification for this excellent Hub article of yours, but glad I'm here now. It would certainly be fascinating to have seen Margot's diary, but at least we can be grateful for Anne's having survived. Their spirit will live on, just like Sophie Scholl, and many other brave and courageous souls who defied evil whilst in the jaws of a beast. Thank you, and recognize that the Jewish New Year has arrived, so if you're a Jewess, then I wish you a happy one.

With Kindest Regards,

R.Q.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

Lisa: There is always the exception to the rule! Every school system I have worked at has required the reading of her diary, but I'm sure you studied about the Holocaust with other readings available to you. Thanks so much for your comments and I'm glad you enjoyed reading this.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

Gypsy: Thank you so much for visiting and reading this. I am so glad you were able to visit the Anne Frank house. Yes, it is time for Margot to be remembered, too. Thanks for your visit - most appreciated.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

MG Singh: Thanks so much for your comments. Most appreciated. And, thanks for the visit.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

gregas: Thank you so much for your second visit and your comments. It is so sad that the girls' lives were cut short. Every human being is important to this world. Thanks for taking the time to visit again - most appreciated.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

Hi Nell: Yes, poor girl! I am glad Margot is finally gettng the recognition she too deserves. It is a shame that her diary didn't make it through the war. Thanks so much for your visit and your comments - most appreciated.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

Martie: Thank you so much for your lovely and encouraging comments. I'm glad you enjoyed reading this. Yes, the house and museum in Amsterdam is an unforgettable experience. Thanks so much for your visit - most appreciated.

Lisa

4 years agofrom WA

I'm probably one of a very small group of people in the U.S. who didn't have Anne's Diary as required reading at any point in my educational career. It's especially funny since I took a Jewish Literature class in the university. However, I have seen a few plays and documentaries on their story. Margot's own diary may have been lost but at least she lives on through her sister's words. This is a fascinating read. I especially appreciate all of the research you must have done to put this together.

Gypsy48

4 years ago

Well written and interesting read. I visited the Anne Frank House some years ago and it was a tearful experience. Thanks for bringing Margot to our attention, well done.

MG Singh

4 years agofrom Singapore

What a beautiful post. Wonderful !

Greg Schweizer

4 years agofrom Corona, California.

As MJennifer stated, the world missed so much because of what these two young ladies could have offered. Just imagine how many more that were lost that could have oddered wonderous things to this world and that includes all of the soldiers that gave of themselves for this unfortunate incident caused by one man. Sorry, but this is such a great article and touching so many that I just had to comment once more. Greg.

Nell Rose

4 years agofrom England

Hi suzette, I am so pleased that the world is now recognising Margot too. Its such a shame that her diary disappeared, but more of a shame that this terrible thing happened, fascinating read, and voted up and shared!

Martie Coetser

4 years agofrom South Africa

Suzette, this is one of the best articles I've read about Anne Frank and her family. In 1999 I was in the Anne Frank House and Museum - an unforgettable experience. So many horrible things had happened in human history - this Jewish genocide was surely one of the worse.

This is the kind of article that belongs in HubPages :)

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

MJ: Thank you so much for your comments and for reading this. Yes. It is so sad that these two girls died before their time. Actually, their deaths from typhus came one month befor the war ended and Bergen Belsen was liberated. God works in mysterious ways. And it is sad Margot's diary disappeared, never to be found. Thank you so much for your thoughtful visit - it is most appreciated!

Marcy J. Miller

4 years agofrom Arizona

This is a lovely tribute to a beautiful and intelligent young woman. What a great loss Margot and Anne were. Imagine what great accomplishments would most certainly have been ahead for them both had they not been victims of the Holocaust.

Good job on this most interesting hub!

Best -- MJ

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

You are welcome !

Jennifer Madison

4 years agofrom Lohmar

I agree, it would have been so interesting to read about her point of view of the happenings. Thanks to you for sharing this story!

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

Jennifer: Thank you so much for reading this. I am glad you enjoyed it. It is such a tragic story and one that should always be remembered. I am just glad that Margot is finally getting her due and remembered for her brief writings. So sad her diary never survived the war. I appreciate your visit and comments.

Jennifer Madison

4 years agofrom Lohmar

Very well written article and very valuable information that is new to the majority of us. It is always tragic to read about the Jewish fate in the 2nd World War. Tragic, sad and still hard to believe...

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

rebeccamey: Thank you so much for stopping by to read this and for your interest. It is sad that Margot has nearly been forgotten and I overshadowed by Anne's diary. It is time for her story to be told no matter how little or brief her writings. Your visit and comments are most appreciated.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

Miss Olive: Thank you so much for reading this and for your comments. I too taught a unit on the holocaust to eighth graders. We read the broadway play of their story and Margot has a small part in it, but we ways discussed Margot as well as Anne. Such horrifics during WWII, but we have Anne's diary and some writings from Margot that represent the times and two young blossoming teenagers who write their story for the world. Have a great reading year and good luck on your holocaust unit. I am retired now, but still miss those special moments in the classroom. We can make our greatest impact as educators when we study these two girls and their writings.

Rebecca Mealey

4 years agofrom Northeastern Georgia, USA

This is very insightful and very well written. I have never thought about Anne Frank in the terms of siblings. It is so tragic what happened to so many Jewish people of that time.

Marisa Hammond Olivares

4 years agofrom Texas

Very interesting and very timely. I am currently preparing a unit on the Holocaust for my 8th graders and I am including excerpts from Anne's diary. I will be sure to also include references to Margot as well. Thank you for this valuable information, it has been very enlightening.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

thumbi7: thank for your sensitive comments about this article. Yes, it was important to illuminate Margot's story. Yes, for both girls to be snuffed out before their time is heartbreaking. What they could have contributed to the world was taken from them. But, even in death, their great contribution to the world are their written words that compell us to not allow monster dictators to rule the world or even their people. Hopefully, we have learned the lessons these girls have taught us, and we help the Syrian people to snuff out their cruel and evil dictator.

JR Krishna

4 years agofrom India

Never heard about Margot Frank's diary. I used to feel very sad after reading the book on Anne Frank's diary. Now I am feeling even more sad.

But I am thankful to you for writing about Anne's sister. It pains when I think about the sacrifices they had to make, the sufferings they have undergone at a tender age.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

CMHypno: thank you for taking the time to read this hub. Yes, it is sad they just didn't continue on to the US. But, the reason for the Netherlands was because Otto had a business partner and a business there, and yes, I'm sure they never thought Hitler would go so far as to invade European countries. Even if they could have gotten to Switzerland, they would have survived. It is an accident of fate that Anne's diary survived. It is too bad both diaries didn't make it through the war. You comments are most appreciated!

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

Conservative Lady: So glad you read this and enjoyed reading about Margot. I am glad to get her story out also. She was such a lovely and quiet girl. Sometimes it takes longer for a quiet person's story to come out. Your comments are most appreciated.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

Schoolmom24: Thank you for reading this and I'm glad I could introduce you to Margot. Yes, This whole story always brings tears to my eyes. It is an important story to illuminate as well as tell what we know of Margot's story. It is sad her diary did not survive the war as Anne's did. Thanks for taking the time to read this important story.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

So sorry gregas, that's suppose to be lovely comments!

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

gregas: Thank you for your love comments. I have also visited the house and museum and what you say is true. It is hard to keep the tears out our eyes when viewing man's inhumanity to man. I also was deeply moved by my visit there. I have also visited Verdun and Bastogne and I can relate to your visit to the Luxembourg Cemetery. All the soldiers lives given to stop these monsters and there is always one more to take their places. I appreciate your time in reading this.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

Faith: Thank you so much for reading this and I so appreciate your visit. This is such an important story and so near and dear to my heart. With what is going on throughout throughout the world today, this story needs to be illuminated. Will we learn from it? So far, a good weekend. I wish you a wonderful weekend also.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

Lurana: So good to hear from you! Thank you so much for reading this. Thank you for recognizing how important this topic is. I appreciate your visit.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

ChristyWrites: Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and for your comments. They are much appreciated. Yes, this is such a valuable lesson of history as you say. But have we or will we learn from this? Here we are dithering over Syria. I know these are difficult times and difficult decisions to make, but the ones to snuff out are these evil dictators.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

cyndi10: Thank you so much for reading this and for your lovely comments. I am glad I was able to publish this this weekend as our country is dithering over Syria. You have said it best- what a shame a lovely intelligent you girl ( and Anne too) is snuffed out before her time. Think of what good things she could have contributed to the world. Thank you again and your comments are most appreciated.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

Bill: Thanks so much for reading this. I appreciate your comments. The Frank family has ways held a soft spot in my heart and after teaching about this I am passionate about stopping these evil dictators that destroy their own. My heart is bleeding right now as Obama dithers over taking action in Syria. I also know there are evil dictators throughout the world that we ignore and it breaks my heart. Illuminating this story is my way of fighting against such evil people. Thanks for your interest.

AUTHOR

Suzette Walker

4 years agofrom Taos, NM

mactavers: thank you for your comments and for reading this. Margot deserves her due and recognition also. When I heard the museum had finally opened an exhibit about Margot, I had to write this. I have always been so moved by the Franks story during the Holocaust. I also have taught Anne's diary and the Broadway play about them to eighth graders. I have also been fortunate to visit the attic and museum in Amsterdam and it certainly leaves quite an impression. Thanks so much for taking the time to read this hub on such an important issue.

CMHypno

4 years agofrom Other Side of the Sun

Interesting hub. It's such a shame that they didn't leave Europe when they left Germany. It must have been so hard when the Nazis invaded and the family realised that their new home wasn't safe either. Shows what a little twist of fate can do though, as it could so easily have been Margot's diary that was saved and Ann's that was destroyed.

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